Thanks for your help. I only missed 2pts out of 250pts.
Here is the speech I gave if someone wants to read it.
Gas prices have been in the news this past year as they hit an all time high of over $4 per gallon. I am sure you have noticed recently when filling up your vehicle, prices at the pump have dropped considerably. In fact, gas prices have not been this low since February of 2007. Working part-time at my family’s 7-Eleven gives me firsthand experience in gasoline retailing. As a hobby I research topics such as fuel saving technology and CAFE Standards. Today I will discuss Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards and how they work, why they are not producing the desired results and what would work better.
Pause
Transition: First, let’s talk about what CAFE standards are.
Body
I. All of you responded on your survey that fuel economy is important to you.
A. Cars that get better gas mileage help save you money and conserve fossil fuels.
B. Many would agree that driving energy efficient vehicles is a good idea.
1. In fact back in 1975, the United States government thought that driving fuel efficient vehicles was such a good idea that they enacted legislation known as CAFE standards.
2. CAFE stands for Corporate average fuel economy and requires an automaker’s line of cars to average a certain number of miles per gallon.
a. This legislation also requires light trucks, which include minivans, pickups, SUVs and
crossovers, to comply with average fuel standards.
C. The CAFE standards have become stricter since 1975.
1. According to NHTSA.DOT.gov Car fleets were originally mandated to average 18 mpg
and currently must achieve an average of 27.5 mpg.
2. Light truck fleets originally needed to average 17 mpg and today must average 23mpg.
D. However well intended CAFE Standards are, they have not produced the desired goal of
decreasing United States dependence on foreign oil according to Shaw & Nikel-Zueger
in their 2004 book titled Energy.
1. If cars get better mileage, Americans are not as concerned about using less gasoline
since it costs them less to drive.
2. In a June 2007 Car and Driver article, Chabuh Cheduh explains that, “CAFE puts the
burden on automakers to produce products that buyers don’t necessarily want.”
3. In other words, the government might be able to force manufacturers to produce fuel
efficient vehicles, but they can’t make the consumer buy them.
E. Bob Lutz, vice chairman of General Motors, puts it like this on the May 6, 2007 Autoline
Detroit TV show, “It’s like trying to combat obesity by forcing clothing manufacturers to
manufacture only small sizes. It’s doomed to failure because the market mechanism
isn’t at work.”
F. Consumers will not buy a car or light truck that does not fit their family’s needs.
Transition: So if this is true, then what are the reasons CAFE standards do not work?
II. The main reason that CAFE standards do not produce the desired results is that they do not
give an incentive to use less gasoline to the consumer.
A. Instead, the burden is placed on the manufacturer to produce and try to sell more fuel
efficient vehicles.
B. It is also true that if a consumer buys a more fuel efficient vehicle, he might not try as
hard to drive fewer miles altogether.
1. He might even decide to drive more since his car or truck gets more miles to the
gallon.
2. Cheduh reports, “By making driving less expensive, higher
CAFE levels actually encourage more driving” (Csere 2007).
3. Therefore the CAFE laws do not decrease overall consumption of gasoline by
Americans nor do they decrease our dependence on foreign oil sources.
C. According to the survey, half of you responded you are unsure if CAFE standards are a
good thing.
1. About 30% agreed they are a good thing while 20% disagreed.
2. While the intentions behind CAFE standards are good, they just aren’t doing what
they were designed to do.
a. Shaw and Nikel-Zueger found that the stardards did not reduce imports of oil.
b. In 1974 35% of all oil consumed in the United States was imported (Shaw 74).
c. By 2002 that figure had risen to more than 52% (Shaw 74).
d. Dependence on foreign oil kept growing because people were driving more.
e. Sterling Burnett of the National Center for Policy Analysis reports that Americans
“drive twice as many miles as they did when CAFE was enacted” (Shaw 74).
Transition: If CAFE standards aren’t the answer, then what is the solution?
III. A better way to encourage American drivers to conserve fuel is to give them an incentive
such as a tax credit for driving a fuel efficient car.
A. Another possibility includes letting market forces control fuel consumption.
1. As gasoline prices rise, many drivers will naturally cut back on their driving, thereby
using less gas and saving money.
B. You may want to know what you can do right now to save energy.
1. Well, you can save gas by driving less, avoid idling, do not travel at the busiest times
of the day, drive at the speed limit or slower on highways, and combine errands.
2. The next time you need to buy tires, consider purchasing a set of low rolling
resistance tires.
3. This could improve fuel efficiency by up to 4%.
C. Contact your congressman to express your support for incentives offered directly to the
consumer rather than stricter CAFE standards that do not produce the desired goal of
reducing fuel consumption.
Transition: Now that you are more informed on this subject you can more wisely spend your energy dollars.
Pause
Conclusion
In summary, CAFE standards have a good end goal but fail to meet the desired results because they do not motivate the right group of people, those who actually burn the gas. By the year 2020 fleets of cars and light trucks will be required to average 35 miles per gallon. Government can mandate that automakers produce more fuel efficient vehicles, but they cannot force consumers to buy a product that does not meet their needs. It is wrong to think government can slightly improve fuel economy to fix our energy problem, a real solution means a drastic change in lifestyle for you and me.
